The present invention is broadly directed to hand-held sawing devices. More particularly, however, the present invention is directed to a child""s safety saw which may be used to cut features into a relatively soft material. Specifically, the present invention is directed to a saw that may be used by a child to carve a pumpkin, watermelon or other vegetable as an artistic object.
A wide variety of cutting tools have been known since the dawn of time. While many cutting tools used today are mechanically driven, there is still a wide variety of manually employed cutting implements which may be used to perform a specific function. For example, knives, awls, saws, scissors, chisels and the like are all examples of cutting tools found in every day use which are of the type that are manually implemented. Not only is there a plethora of distinct types of cutting tools, but many varieties exist within each type such that a specialized function may be performed by the respective tool.
A variety of specialized cutting tools have been developed by or for the assignee of the present invention. These tools are ones particularly adapted for cutting or carving features into relatively soft materials such as pumpkins, squashes, melons, etc. Here, a decorative design is placed in the fleshy shell of a pumpkin, for example, and the design features are then carved in the shell of the pumpkin primarily by a small, hand-held saw and by drilling tools.
As may readily be appreciated, the activity of pumpkin carving or the creation of designs in other vegetable materials provides a wholesome family function. Moreover, this activity particularly attracts young children. In the past, however, pumpkin carving was typically accomplished with the use of pocket knives, paring knives and the like. Due to the size of these cutting instruments, a typical carver was only able to obtain limited, fairly large scale decorative features. In addition, such knives were quite difficult to control and this, in conjunction with the sharpness of the knife, exposed the carver to the danger of injury. The result was that pumpkin carving had a fairly high degree of danger for young children.
In an effort to meet the needs for safer instruments that might be utilized to carve decorative designs in pumpkin shells, a pumpkin carving kit was developed and is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,114 issued May 9, 1989 to John P. Bardeen. This pumpkin carving kit allows more intricate designs to be carved in the pumpkin shell and increases the safety over normal pre-existing carving techniques for children, adults and other enthusiasts.
While the pumpkin carving kit and the implements disclosed in the above noted patent were a substantial improvement over pocket knives, paring knives and the like, the sharp edges of the serrated saw blade still require care when manipulating the hand-held saw during the cutting operation. Such attention and care is naturally difficult for extremely young children.
Accordingly, a continued need exists to create carving tools which can be employed even by very young children when carving pumpkins, watermelons or other vegetables. There is a need for such a device that can be relatively easily manipulated by a child while minimizing exposure to any sharp cutting edges.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and useful hand-held saw especially adapted for use by relatively small children in carving soft materials such as pumpkin shells, other vegetable shells, and the like.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a hand-held saw which can cut the shell of a pumpkin, melon, squash or other vegetable while being constructed to avoid substantial risk of cutting the human skin.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a hand-held cutting tool which has a handle particularly constructed to be gripped by a small child, either by the fist or by the fingers of the child""s hand.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a hand-held cutting tool which has cutting teeth which act to eject the fleshy shards cut from a vegetable shell during the cutting operation.
According to the present invention, then, a safety saw is adapted to be grasped by a child""s hand for use in cutting soft materials. Broadly, the safety saw includes handle that includes a first end portion having a first end surface oriented transversely to a longitudinal axis of the handle and a second end portion which has a second end surface oriented transversely to the longitudinal axis. The first and second end portions have first and second diameters, respectively, and a central waisted portion is disposed between the first and second end portions with the waisted portion having a minimum diameter that is no more than fifty percent (50%) of the second diameter. A blade is secured at proximal blade end portion to the second end portion of the handle. This blade projects oppositely of the first end portion along the longitudinal axis to terminate in a distal blade tip. This blade is provided with a plurality of saw teeth.
Preferably, these saw teeth are disposed along a first lateral edge of the blade with the blade having a second lateral edge opposite to this first lateral edge. The saw teeth are only on the first lateral edge between the second end surface and the distal tip portion of the blade. Each of the saw teeth has a leading tooth edge that is opposite the handle and a trailing tooth edge opposite the leading tooth edge. The leading tooth edge is preferably oriented at an angle of about 90xc2x0 with respect to the longitudinal axis while the trailing tooth edge is oriented obliquely with respect to the longitudinal axis, such as at an acute angle between a range of 50xc2x0 to 60xc2x0.
The first surface of the first end portion of the handle is preferably formed at a radius of curvature of about 0.5 inch (1.27 centimeter). The first and second diameters, respectively, are the first and second end portions are preferably equal. The waisted portion is located closer to the second end surface of the handle than it is to the first end surface and this waisted portion is formed at a radius of curvature relative to the central longitudinal axis of about 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeter).
The saw teeth are preferably located along a first lateral edge with the blade having a second lateral edge opposite the first lateral edge. The blade has a blade width between these two lateral edges. The saw teeth preferably have a width that is about equal to the tooth height. The distal tip of the blade is devoid of saw teeth and extends for a length that is at least twice the tooth width. The blade also has a shank portion, preferably molded integrally with the handle, with the shank portion having a shank width that is equal to the sum of the tooth height and the blade width. The distal tip portion of the blade has a tip end formed of a radius of curvature of about 0.050 inches (0.125 centimeters).
These and other objects of the present invention will become more readily appreciated and understood from a consideration of the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiment when taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which: